Duncan forced his way under the basket. Trapped between Chandler and Nowitzki, he was completely unfazed. He faked with a jab step, then used a drop step to slip through the gap and sink a layup.
On the sideline, Skiles had lost the composure he’d shown in the second quarter. He paced back and forth anxiously, arms crossed.
Chen Yu rested his chin on his hand, a complicated look in his eyes.
’Sure enough, my guess was right.’
The Spurs had resorted to their last trick.
They were letting Duncan go all out.
This was actually a very powerful strategy!
Two years ago, back when they were the Five-star Phoenix Suns, this very strategy from the Spurs had given them a tough time.
When he was unleashed like this, he’d score 30 points at a minimum, and 40 wasn’t out of the question.
It was just that the Suns’ lineup back then was too stacked. No matter how strong Duncan was, the Suns could handle it.
But now, with a downgraded roster, if Duncan really dropped 40 points today, the outcome of the game would be a true toss-up.
And that was exactly what was happening.
In the second half, the Spurs’ playstyle had completely changed.
They weren’t running Ham tactics or focusing on teamwork anymore. They had just one play: get the ball to Duncan. As soon as Duncan muscled his way into his sweet spot, they’d pass it to him immediately, spread the floor, and let him go one-on-one indefinitely.
On the defensive end, they created a mismatch.
They moved Duncan to the five-spot and had Muhammad body up on Nowitzki to wear him down.
Popovich knew the Suns’ offense didn’t revolve around Chandler.
Since they couldn’t stop Nowitzki anyway, they might as well reduce the energy Duncan spent on defense.
They could also use his rim-protecting ability to limit the Suns’ drives.
The core of their strategy was still to let Duncan score.
The Spurs couldn’t contain Nowitzki, and likewise, the Suns couldn’t contain a Duncan focused solely on scoring.
The score crept up, with each team trading baskets, turning the game into a personal offensive showcase between Duncan and Nowitzki.
Even the cheers from the Spurs fans in the stands grew much louder.
Spurs games were usually frighteningly dull; they had never been this exciting.
In the third quarter, Nowitzki dropped another 11 points.
Duncan was even more ferocious, scoring 16 points in the quarter. He was on a complete rampage.
At the end of the third quarter, the Suns were clinging to a 3-point lead, 73–70.
"Chen!"
Assistant coach Jim Boylan, sitting beside Chen Yu, let out a long sigh. He turned to Chen and said, "You know what I’m going to say."
Chen Yu shook his head with a wry smile.
’He’s definitely about to say I shouldn’t have performed that meniscus surgery on Duncan back then.’
"This isn’t the right way to play," Chen Yu said in a low voice.
Right now, the Suns and the Spurs were like two berserk fighters, heedless of the consequences, just trading blows. ’You stab me, I stab you.’
This wasn’t a normal contest; it was the absolute wrong way to play the game.
Nowitzki had mastered the Golden Chicken Standalone, but that was just one aspect of his improved offense. You couldn’t rely solely on that one move.
The Suns had so many other excellent players and great team chemistry.
Nowitzki’s Golden Chicken Standalone should have been the icing on the cake.
They should stick to their game plan.
But now, it was as if they’d completely lost their heads, mindlessly feeding the ball to Nowitzki for isolation plays.
It was fine for a quarter, or even a single game, but doing this for an entire series would lead to problems.
Chen Yu could understand why the Spurs were doing this; after all, Popovich couldn’t come up with a better counter-strategy on such short notice.
The Suns, however, were being led around by the nose, completely dragged into the Spurs’ tempo.
In the third quarter, Nowitzki may have scored 11 points, but it took him 11 shot attempts to do so.
That alone was enough to show he wasn’t playing efficiently.
The Suns needed to stick to their own rhythm, run their plays, and work their inside-out game.
Just as he was thinking this, Chen Yu suddenly noticed something unnatural about Duncan’s gait as he walked off the court.
Chen Yu had an exceptionally sharp eye.
After all, having seen so many patients, he was incredibly experienced.
Even without using the Eye of All-Seeing, he could spot a lot of problems just by observing someone’s gait.
’Something is wrong with Duncan’s left foot.’
Chen Yu thought back to the third quarter.
’With just over 8 minutes left, during a fight for a rebound under the basket, Duncan was bumped by Chandler. Although he managed to tip the ball away, he was off-balance and seemed to stumble when he landed.’
’The paint was crowded at the time, and there was no replay, so it was hard to see clearly.’
’But he probably tweaked it then.’
’Plus, Duncan kept playing as if nothing was wrong, so nobody thought anything of it.’
’Looking at it now, there really was a problem.’
Chen Yu’s gaze followed Duncan.
He was too far away for the Eye of All-Seeing to get a clear view.
But he saw Duncan sit down in a corner of the bench and call over the Spurs’ team doctor, Camp, who knelt and spoke with him discreetly.
Then, Camp began to examine him.
Judging by Camp’s serious expression, the situation might not be good.
Sure enough, a moment later, Camp stood up and had a word with Popovich.
Popovich was visibly stunned for a moment, then he turned and looked toward Chen Yu.
Their eyes met.
Popovich quickly averted his gaze.
Duncan didn’t head to the locker room. He remained on the sideline, applying an ice pack.
Chen Yu, however, had a feeling he wouldn’t be returning to the game.
This was only the first round. Popovich surely knew there was no need to risk aggravating the injury for a single game.
Chen Yu looked away and sighed to himself.
’What a coincidence. Looks like I’ve got work to do.’
On the court, Ben Gordon received a beautiful pass from Livingston and drained a three-pointer.
The guy had one fatal flaw: his shooting was inconsistent.
When he was hot, every shot he took was nothing but net. SWISH.
But when he was cold, he was ice-cold.
Sure enough, after making two in a row, it was as if a lid had been placed on the rim; he couldn’t make a shot no matter how many he took.
Seeing this, taking him out of the starting lineup had been the right decision.
On a weaker team, you might get the opportunity to pad your stats.
But on a contender, you don’t get the luxury of slowly finding your shooting rhythm.
After a little over three minutes of play, as the starters gradually returned to the court, Duncan, as expected, was not among them.
"What’s going on?" Boylan, beside him, craned his neck to get a better look.
Chen Yu tugged on his arm. "Stop looking. Duncan’s injured."
Boylan was taken aback.
’Injured?’
’How did I not see that?’
Still in shock, he looked back at Chen Yu.
"Don’t say it."
Chen Yu knew what he was thinking.
An embarrassed look flashed across Boylan’s face as he quickly explained, "I didn’t mean it like that."
A true sportsman would never wish for an injury.
After a pause, Boylan asked, "So, is it serious?"
Although he didn’t wish for injuries, now that it had happened, if Duncan had to miss a few games, the Suns would be in a very secure position.
"It’s probably not serious," Chen Yu shook his head. "He probably just tweaked it. They’re holding him out as a precaution."
’Since I’m here, it definitely won’t affect the next game.’
But for the Suns, this was still good news.
At least this game was in the bag.
If the game had continued that way, it really would have been hard to say who would win.
Besides, constantly shooting while being double-teamed and taking all sorts of high-difficulty shots is a recipe for injury.
Chen Yu was also worried that Nowitzki might get hurt.
With Duncan out of the game, the Spurs completely collapsed.
Meanwhile, the attention of the fans in the arena and the media was completely fixed on Duncan on the sideline.
Parker missed a mid-range floater, and the game came to an end.
103–91. The Suns won by 12 points, securing a crucial road victory.
As soon as the game ended, Popovich walked straight over.
He hastily shook hands with Skiles before coming to Chen Yu’s side.
Chen Yu was already standing. Before Popovich could say a word, Chen Yu said, "Let’s go," and followed him toward the Spurs’ player tunnel.
At that very moment, the national broadcast cameras immediately locked onto Chen Yu.
In the TNT broadcast booth, Barkley rubbed his chin and said in a peculiar tone, "I wonder if Scott is thinking right now, ’It would’ve been great if Chen hadn’t come with the team.’"
If Chen Yu had stayed back in Phoenix, the delay of a full day for him to travel and treat Duncan would have directly impacted the Spurs in their next game.

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